=General Rules for Nurses and Agents.= In a small community in which there is but one nurse and no Charity Organization Society or its equivalent, it is well to form a Relief Committee, to whom the nurse may refer such of her cases as need assistance. In cities where relief-giving organizations are already established, a few general rules should govern the relation between nurse and agent; the observance of these will prevent much trouble and misunderstanding. Under no circumstances should the nurse give material assistance—neither money, food, clothing, nor anything of the sort. When these things are needed, the agent should be asked for them, and no case is so acute but that it may wait until this consultation takes place. In a city where there is no emergency or night bureau, it may be necessary to make an occasional exception to this rule, in which case the nurse may tide the patient over till the following morning, when the agent may be conferred with. Such instances will be so rare, however, that they are merely noted as exceptions to the general rule—under no consideration whatever should the nurse give any material relief. It sometimes happens that the nurse has been given a small sum to buy food, clothing, or special articles for some of her patients. This fund was perhaps intended for a specified case, or to be used at discretion. It is wiser to give this money to the agent, with the request that it be spent (if circumstances warrant) as the nurse suggests. This course may involve additional trouble, a little extra work for both nurse and agent, but it is necessary to be extremely punctilious in order to avoid serious misunderstandings. When a nurse has been in the work a long time, and is dealing with agents whom she knows and understands, a feeling of mutual trust and dependence will arise. Under such circumstances, both may take far more leeway than should be granted a new worker—but unfortunately this happy and comfortable state is not always reached. The safest plan is that each should follow her own line with utmost precision, being rigidly careful not to overstep the boundaries between her own and another’s duties.